Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, picked by the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, speaks during a news conference Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Thursday's NBA Draft turned into a two-phase process for potential draftees: Wait and hope your name is called, then wait some more to find out where you'll end up after teams finish passing you around like a hot potato.

In total, 18 players drafted Thursday will start their NBA careers on a team other than the one that selected them, including five players who spent their evening in limbo while being traded twice before the sun came up.

Ten first-rounders were involved in trades, most notably Kentucky forward Nerlens Noel, who fell to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 6 and was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jrue Holiday. Only time will reveal who got the better end of the deal, but NJ.com's Jordan Raanan believes the Sixers got it right, and for all the right reasons:

Moves often are more about money and financial flexibility than they are about talent. In the Sixers' case, legalized tanking also comes into the picture. Being bad, very bad, this upcoming season could be looked at as a reward in what is considered one of the best drafts in years.

Next up on the block was Michigan guard Trey Burke, who was drafted No. 9 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being sent to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the rights to UCLA forward Shabazz Muhammad and Louisville center Gorgui Dieng. The deal took a lot of legwork to get right but in the end looks good for all parties, writes CBSSports.com's Zach Harper:

This is a great move for the Jazz, who needed a point guard on their roster and finally have a replacement for Deron Williams, who was traded a couple of seasons ago. First part of this trade for Minnesota is drafting Shabazz Muhammad at 14. He's a scorer, which they need, but he'll have to prove he can hit the 3-pointer and develop a right hand. They also pick up Gorgui Dieng out of Louisville. Dieng is a big time defensive prospect at center and could give them insurance if Nikola Pekovic leaves in free agency.

But having two major trades in the draft's Top 10 became almost an afterthought on a night that the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Netsagreed in principle to a stunning blockbuster deal. The biggest pieces in the swap are Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, who head to Brooklyn in exchange for future draft picks, some building blocks and Gerald Wallace's fat contract.

Not even Wallace's mother-punching, Johnny-befriending deal can overshadow the assets Ainge has started to build. In Green, Sullinger, Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo and nine picks over the next five seasons, the Celtics have quickly assembled a host of valuable pieces. Ainge will surely keep some and trade others while trying to bring another championship back to Boston.

• According to Dave D'Alessandro of NJ.com, by continually drafting players too young to have really proven their worth, the NBA is harming the quality of their own product and hamstringing the careers of some potentially great players:

Frankly, it seems to be like an easy argument to make: The age and relative immaturity of the players being drafted nowadays cheapens the product.

There are numbers that support both sides of the argument, but we don’t mean to pick on freshmen. In fact, the anecdotal evidence is all over the map: For every Michael Beasley and Marvin Williams, there is a Kevin Durant and Kevin Love. For every Brandon Knight, there is a Kyrie Irving.

But we’re still coming to grips with the one-and-done syndrome and its ripple effects, and this would seem to be self-evident: The more you encourage 19-year-olds to turn pro, the subsequent drafts are fated to be progressively weaker, and nobody in the NBA seems willing to change the present system that created this circumstance.

• During Thursday night's draft broadcast, ESPN analyst Bill Simmons hurled a shot across the bow of departed Celtic and new Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, arguing that Rivers "quit" on the Celtics by heading west.

But as of Friday afternoon, Doc had the last word after an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show:

"Bill (Simmons) is a fan," Rivers said. "Is he qualified enough to debate the NBA? We can debate that all day. Bill's a fan. Bill's not a friend of mine or a fan of mine and never has been. I rarely respond. I don't do that very often, but I just kind of had enough of that. I thought it kind of ruined the broadcast last night because he kept bringing it up. Almost like he had an agenda. I was just getting tired of it."

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